Chinese professors at the Wizarding Academy

In this silent, dark forest, danger lurks everywhere, as thick as ink.

Hunters hide in the shadows, and so does Gu Chen.

The decaying leaves were trampled, making a soft rustling sound.

The sound was becoming clearer, which meant that the two trackers were getting closer and would soon reach the trap.

"I am exactly 100 meters away from where the license badge is placed. With my current mental strength, the error in my estimation of this distance is at most a few centimeters."

"A mid-level first-ring wizard's mental power can only probe up to sixty or seventy meters, which is enough."

"Wait until they get a little closer...wait until they get their permission, then I'll make my move."

One hundred and one stars slowly rotated in his spiritual sea, and Gu Chen could clearly sense the red and blue spiritual energy.

It's quite obvious that he's like a suppressed volcano, his spiritual energy tinged with crimson, and he's probably a very domineering person in daily life.

"No wonder he's a blacksmith. He's burly, thick-waisted, and has a red neck. He's either a cook or a blacksmith."

Gu Chen kept his eyes fixed on his goal, mentally grumbling a few times – this was also a way to relax.

Don't be too tense. Appropriate venting can relieve stress and prevent mental energy loss under excessive tension.

"This is the herbal medicine vendor; it's really a bit damp..."

Another spiritual force felt to Gu Chen like an undercurrent beneath a deep pool.

As the two trackers drew closer, their voices grew louder.

Gu Chen could only hear faintly before, but now he can hear everything being said.

As the two trackers stopped, Gu Chen knew they had arrived at the location where the permit was placed, and their conversation suddenly became louder.

"Look! Morris! That idiot even lost his license? What a coward!"

"Keep your voice down, Hans... I'll say it again, I don't want to attract other predators or other wizards."

Hans, with his red hair, strode quickly toward the carcass of the Bloodhoofed Deer, his gaze greedily fixed on the corpse.

"What a fine Bloodhoof Deer! He didn't even take it with him? He only had a low-level first-tier rank and dared to enter the Black Forest alone. He must have really run out of options. Does this kind of trash even need our help?"

"And they even lost their license... I guess they went through all that trouble to kill a Bloodhoof Deer, only to be targeted by another predator?"

Hans's voice was hoarse and full of mockery. He was about to reach for the license, which was a good thing. Each license could be recycled and give the recycler nine magic stone fragments, or a license to enter the Black Forest of the Nine Heavens.

Keep in mind that a complete license only allows entry into the Black Forest for ten days after purchase. If you can retrieve the license from the Black Forest, it's equivalent to completing a low-level quest. The reward for completing a low-level quest is usually just one magic stone fragment.

"Something's not right, Hans." Morris's soft voice rang out. He was a water-based wizard, and compared to the fiery Hans, he seemed much calmer.

"It's too quiet. Not even the sound of carrion beetles. This area is abnormally clean."

Hans scoffed dismissively, without stopping.

"Maurice, you're always so paranoid! A piece of trash with a sixth-level talent, he's lucky to have died next to this deer! I bet he was scared out of his wits by something that suddenly jumped out, and in his haste to escape, he dropped the thing! It saved us a lot of trouble!"

Morris did not refute, a low-level blood wizard with a sixth-rank star talent... would be very easy for the two of them to deal with.

Hans and Maurice have been active in areas frequented by low-level wizards for many years. Compared to the mainstream method of other wizards who spend their days in libraries or studying on their own, their method of improvement is quite unique.

That is to take on hunting missions and help some wizards with tasks that are not easy for them to do personally, such as killing wizards. The two of them, one water and one fire, cooperate with each other and specifically target those with lower talent and lower ring scores than themselves!

This time, they were following up on Mr. Joe Baker's commission to kill this nobody named "Gu Chen".

Why do I have this feeling of unease...?

Before setting off, Mr. Joe Baker gave the two of them the personnel file of their prey, Gu Chen. Gu Chen was indeed a low-level first-ring talent with a sixth-star talent. The file even mentioned his nearest location, which was likely to be in the Black Forest.

According to the plan, we just need to kill them once we reach the outer perimeter...

However, even though it should have been a very simple task, Morris felt that something was wrong, as if a strange sense of suffocation was lingering over him.

"Hans, don't move."

Maurice stopped Hans from taking the license, then closed his eyes and began to focus his mental energy.

Then, his spiritual energy extended outwards, like a pool of clear water, constantly branching out into trickles that flowed invisibly through the area he was in.

"No, there really isn't."

Within a 50-meter search area, Morris found nothing.

"Hey! Morris, fifty meters is enough. That's already beyond that man's limit!"

Seeing Maurice's suspicious behavior, Hans stepped forward to stop his partner's actions, which he saw as pointless and a waste of mental energy.

"Hans, get out of here! I sense something's wrong!"

Two beads of sweat trickled down Morris's forehead as he forcibly extended his mental detection range to seventy meters, hoping to discover some hidden danger.

"Or is there nothing at all?"

But no, Morris simply didn't find anything.

But... but that strange worry, that unease, not only didn't disappear, it kept getting stronger!

"I told you so, Maurice, he'd probably already run away. Let's take it slow..."

Hans rolled his eyes, reaching for the license as he turned to Maurice, but suddenly his words abruptly stopped.

"Hans?"

Why is the sound gone?

Why is it suddenly so quiet?

"Hans?"

Suddenly, everything went silent for Maurice!

It wasn't completely silent; he could still hear the rustling of the wind through the trees, his own breathing, and even the roars of wild animals in the distance...

The only thing missing was the familiar voice of Hans.

"Hans!"

Morris suddenly opened his eyes!

He saw his partner, the fire wizard Hans, covered in blood, his red hair mixed with his own blood.

His skin became visibly dry, and his voice quickly became hoarse.

In the end, he collapsed to the ground like a deflated balloon.

He wasn't dead yet, but he was too injured to utter a single word due to severe blood loss.

He stretched out his hand, finally making a "click-clack" sound.

"Cough cough, ha... Help, help..."